More female politicians, less corruption – MCWO

The Malta Confederation of Women's Organisations has urged political parties and voters to give women their full support. In total 26 women candidates will be contesting these elections. 13 will be contesting on the PN ticket (23%), 12 on the Labour ticket (14%) and one for Alternattiva  Demokratika (11%).

According to the MCWO, systematic studies show that female politicians are more likely to concentrate on issues that matter more to families and tend to place important issues, like childcare, care of the elderly, finance, health, environment and challenges related to work and care on top of the political agenda.

"A lesser-known fact about female politicians is that, on a global level, they are in general extremely ethical in their way of governing and rarely corruptible," MCWO chair Renee Laiviera said.

"Studies have found a statistically significant correlation between a higher proportion of women in government and a lower level of corruption at both the national and local level."

Laiviera said that with just six women (9%) elected in the House of Representatives, the gender imbalance in politics in Malta persists.

"The situation is slightly better when it comes to Local Councils, where female councillors make up 22% of elected councillors - 98 females compared to 345 male councilors - and 13% of elected mayors. This means that decision-making and priority setting continues to be largely in the hands of men," she said.

According to MCWO, democracy cannot truly be delivered to all of Malta's citizens with such a low representation of women when considering that half of the country's population is made up of women.

"MCWO is hoping that this time round more women will be elected to parliament. Women offer a different perspective to men that bring added value to the political agenda.  It is a known fact that the participation of women broaden the political views and enrich the collective political experience and understanding," Laiviera said.

The organisation said it hoped that more women are elected to parliament.

"The problem is that there needs to be a critical mass to put these issues on the political agenda. Otherwise they simply become the pet projects of a small minority of legislators. So how can we ensure that more women are elected this time round?"

Laiviera insisted that the electorate needs to vote for women candidates. "All parties are presenting a list of competent female candidates and the electorate is encouraged to support them by giving them preferably their first preference. Second and third preference votes are also welcome in the context of our system of proportional representation," she urged.

Laiviera said that political parties need to ensure that women candidates are given sufficient media exposure in order to permit the electorate to become familiar with their ideas, who they are and what they stand for. 

"Political leaders need to highlight the importance of having a balanced gender representation in parliament in order to reflect genuine equality in our society."

MCWO said that political parties have an obligation towards giving women their full support, stemming from the fact that in 1991, the Maltese government committed itself  to implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). 

One of its cornerstones is the equal participation of women and men in public life.  Thus Malta is duty-bound to take the measures to promote women's participation in decision-making and leadership positions.

The commitment to promote equal participation in public  was strengthened in 1995, when new pressure on national governments to implement the CEDAW provisions was generated at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing.  

"Here, inequality between women and men in the sharing of power and decision-making at all levels, was highlighted as an area of major concern that need urgent attention and action," Laiviera said. 

MCWO also insisted that all political parties in Malta are committed to safeguarding human rights as an essential element of our democratic framework. 

The inclusion of the perspectives, views and experiences of those who will be affected, bring credibility to the development of any political agenda. Thus, the organisation said, political parties need to ensure a balanced inclusion of women not only within their parties but also within Maltese society.